I Want You to Notice Me
by Crayola Hearts
Summary: For even a monster has a heart.
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's Note: Another GaLe fanfiction this time inspired by Levy's words in chapter 210. _****_ I'm always open as to how I can improve my works so c_****_ritique is appreciated, if you know what you're talking about. Anyway, onto the story._**

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Levy McGarden wasn't anyone's first choice when it came to physical strength, in fact she was hardly a choice. Levy had the physical strength of a blade of glass; she was small and thin - not many people gave her a second glance as she passed. She was however, smart, bloody fucking brilliant in that case. There's hadn't been a language, ancient or not, that she couldn't translate, thus far. But even so, brains weren't everything. Or so she had always thought.

Sighing deeply, the bluenette finished rearranging the last shelf in her room and stood back to admire the small enclosure she had come to call home. You could almost call her a hoarder; any availble space on her wall was covered in bookcases loaded with various novels and tomes. Even several stacks of the damned things were placed neatly in areas where space permitted. The rest of the room consisted of a small round table in one corner, a small bathroom and a small kitchen, and her bed against one wall, the window right above it. It wasn't much, but since it was just her, she didn't need much; other than possibly a second room for her books, but she seemed to be managing with the space she had.

It was late in the morning when she finally showered and dressed, readying herself for the day ahead. Humming lightly, she grabbed her beige satchel and started toward the Guild, her sandal clad feet clomping lightly the whole way. The sky above was bright and clear, not a trace of clouds in the sky as the mid morning sun kissed the bluenette's creamy skin. In haling deeply, the petite mage smiled brightly.

It had been nearly a two weeks since Phantom's attack and things had settled relatively quickly around the guild. They had rebuilt it, turning it into a much grander structure than it had been in the past; the Solid Script mage loved it, especially the addition of the pool in the back. She knew, however, it was only a matter of time before things became broken as the guild slowly began to integrate into its usual daily brawls and drunken fights. She didn't mind the addition of some new members, but one of the two seemed to particularly frighten her.

Gajeel Redfox.

The man who had beaten her and crucified her; humiliating her and her team in front of all of Magnolia Town. Though she tired to hide her objection since it was Master's decision to allow him to join the guild, she couldn't help but feel absolutely and utterly _terrified _of that man; the man that haunted her nightmares, worse than anything she could read in her beloved horror novels. Each night when she would wake, screaming and sweating profusely, she could feel ever cut, every scrape, and a every bruise he placed on her small frame.

She shivered at the thought. Trying to shake off the sinking feeling that suddenly formed in the pit of her stomach, the blunette bounded forward, her satchel bouncing lightly on her hip. The guild was in sight now, other than Kardia Cathedral, it was the tallest building in Magnolia Town. Squaring her shoulders, the mage continued forward, passing several members leaving for or coming back from jobs. They greeted her with smiles and waves, and she greeted back. Before the bluenette knew it, she was at the doors of the guild.

Her small hand barely touched the door's wooden surface when it flew open, nearly slamming into her small face. Letting a small squeak of surprise break from her lips, the blunette stumbled backwards, connecting with the hard ground below her. Looking up. her large brown eyes landed on the one person she had secretly hopped wouldn't be in the guild that day. His crimson eyes stared down at her as a scowl twisted his face.

"What the hell are you doing down there?" He growled.

Try as she might, the bluenette couldn't stop the trembling that had over taken her entire body. She could swear she saw his eye twitch before leaving with a _Tch. _Even after he was gone, the bluenette was frozen in place, fear gluing her to the ground. Her mind was blank, all thought process having ceased while her limbs felt like jello. She had half expected him to kick her, being the violent brute she often found herself thinking he was.

"Levy-chan? Are you alright?"

Mira's sweet voice broke through her wall of thought, nearly scaring her out of her skin. The bluenette turned her gaze on the fair haired mage, a smile forcibly making its way onto her small lips.

"Y-Yeah." With a little effort, the Solid Script mage pushed herself to her feet and brushed the dirt from her small body.

The takeover mage gave her an uncertain look before finally turning and walking back inside, the bluenette not far behind her. The usual scene had unfolded in the guild hall; a massive brawl that had claimed most of the male members of Fairy Tail. Avoiding the commotion, Levy made her way to the bar and plopped down on a hard, wooden stool. Reaching into her satchel, she withdrew a rather thick horror novel and set it on the wooden surface before her. Before long, the petite mage was lost within its pages, completely oblivious to the world around her.

That being said, when the beer keg exploded next to her, she was shaken back into reality as its cold contents drenched her, miraculously missing the pages laying before her. Normally, she would have snapped due to the fact that her precious book was nearly ruined because of someone's stupidity, but today wasn't a normal day. She couldn't really blame them for their rowdy behavior, after all, since Phantom's attack and the weeks in which it took to rebuild their ruined guild, they had been completely serious as slacking off had not been an option. It was one of the few and rare times the massive brawls were encouraged rather than being suppressed. Even Erza had joined, undoubtedly due to the crushed cake that lay some twenty feet from where the Solid Script mage now sat.

She couldn't keep the smile from spreading over her lips as he neglected the horror novel to watch the scene unfold before her. Natsu knocking Gray across the room, Wakaba snatching Lucy's top before she could stop him, Elfman flying into the ceiling, and Erza shouting some words of challenge to anyone stupid enough to accept. Off on the side lines stood Juvia, half hidden by a wall as she watched her beloved Gray-sama taking part in the brawl he had probably been instrumental in starting.

Shaking her head, the petite mage turned to the bar, requesting a glass of orange juice. As Mira set the drink before her, she flashed the bluenette a sweet smile. "They never change. The first chance they get and they destroy the guild."

"It feels kind of noglastic, really. Things sure have changed." Levy pointed out, taking a sip of her drink.

"I have the feeling they will continue to do so. We're all comrades, all fighting, laughing, and smiling with each other." The fair haired mage laughed. "Even Gajeel will warm up to us eventually, and even if it isn't slow, the other's will come to let him in."

The petite mage hesitated. "Are you sure it was a good idea for Master to allow him to join? I mean after what happened with..."

Mira smiled. "Master didn't just _let him join _he _offered _him a place here, seeing as how he was alone. You see, Master feels obligated to help show the 'youngsters' the right path. He invited Gajeel here in hopes that he could possibly change his ways. As he said, no one can bare solitude, that gruff man included."

As she thought about it, it made sense. It was so like Master to do something like that, but if Master felt it was appropriate, she had no choice but to deal with it. For some reason beyond her, she began to feel that maybe he wasn't as cold as he seemed.

_For even a monster has a heart._

The line that echoed through her mind was one she had seen in a book sometime ago. Who knows, maybe it was true. Maybe the cold-hearted and ruthless Gajeel Redfox was just as vulnerable, just as feeling as anyone else. Perhaps he locked himself being his iron scales for protection. Who would know? He wasn't exactly a social being.

_God, I'm starting to sound like a character in a crappy romance novel. _She sighed inwardly and took another sip of her drink. Even if that was the case, they were good questions, good questions with answers that would take some time to reveal. And suddenly her curiosity caused her to crave those answers, like he was some kind of puzzle she needed to solve. For all she knew, he could be.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why the fuck did I join that stupid guild." The Dragonslayer grumbled as he looked over the work flyer before him. _Oh, that's why._

Grumbling something about stupid fairies, Gajeel stormed through the streets as if he was on a warpath, the scowl on his studded face daring anyone to try him.

He didn't understand other people, or even himself at times, but his current situation was a mixture of both. It was beyond his comprehension why the old man would invite him to join the guild, after all he was directly responsible for destroying it and even hurting and publicly humiliating three of its members. He had no excuse for it; hurting Team Shadowgear was completely on him. Though it was made perfectly clear that he wasn't ever going to be forgiven for such an act, he was still offered a place to go. But why?

"Leading me down the right path? Tch. Yeah fucking right. What the hell do you have in mind, you old shit? Or is fucking using me to spy on your son all that you wanted?"

He wasn't surprised, not in the least. People had always used him like a tool, casting him aside when they had what they wanted. he doubted that Markov was any different, but at the same time he had the nagging feeling that what he had said was true, that he did in fact care and offered him a place in his guild for that reason. Given his rough past, however, that though was nothing more than a buzzing fly in the back of his mind.

Growling with renewed anger, the Dragonslayer stalked off to his apartment, a run down flat in what wasn't exactly the safest part of town. It wasn't like he had anyone else living with him and only an idiot with a fucking death wish would mess with him. That, coupled with his rather foul mood, the people of Magnolia Town split as he stormed down the middle of the street.

Unsurprisingly, massive piles of scrap metal filled the small front yard and alley way that cut between his building and the one beside it; it was in his nature to hoard. The air was filled with the strong scent of metal and a bit of rust, a scent that caused the Dragonslayer's stomach to growl. Grabbing a rather large piece of metal, the Dragonslayer stormed through the front door of the 'abandoned' apartment building and closed the door with a slam.

It was messy, but he didn't care. No need to clean it if he didn't want to; he was the only one living there after all.

"Why?" He asked himself again, this time as if desperately searching for the answer in his words, though he knew he would find none.

Being patient and waiting wasn't something he was good at, but in this particular situation, he had no choice. The answer would come to him eventually, perhaps when he wasn't too stubborn to let himself use the brains that he, contrary to popular belief, possessed.

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**_Author's note: Short, short chapter. I was thinking of adding it to the first one, but I'm to lazy to go through all of the crap (though its really not that much) so enjoy a small chapter on Gajeel's thoughts.. Lord its a pain to write without Lily in the picture._**


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